Nathalie Baptiste, '10

Accomplishment: Pursuing Masters in International StudiesMajor: International StudiesMinor: Spanish, Political ScienceHouse: Sariah

Nathalie Baptiste ‘10 learned a lot of things at Graceland—and not just in the classroom.

Outside of all the reading assignments, pop quizzes, essay and lectures, Nathalie says the most important thing she learned at GU was how to interact with diverse groups of people. And for Nathalie, that’s a vital skill—she plans to spend her professional life interacting with people from all over the world.

Nathalie is pursuing a Master's of Arts in International Studies with a concentration in Economic Development at East Carolina University. The program’s international field experience requirements ask students to select a focus language and spend a minimum of ten weeks living abroad. Nathalie’s elected language is Spanish, and she hopes to study in South America for this upcoming portion of her program.

While at Graceland, Nathalie majored in International Studies, spending time Granada, Spain taking a language-intensive course. Nathalie also picked up minors in Spanish and Political Science, which will prove useful tools for her future endeavors.

“Nathalie is outspoken and easy to engage in discussion. She seems to have an innate understanding of the way dialogue and argument can further your understanding of academic issues. That ability to interact with people will definitely help her in graduate school and her field experience,” said Assistant Professor of History Dr. John Franklin.

"Graceland was the place where I met my best friends and made the kinds of memories I know Ill never forget."

Nathalie regards Graceland as a place where she met her best friends and created unforgettable memories. She also notes that aspects of Graceland, like its small class sizes, have been advantageous to her in her post-graduate career.

“Graceland taught me how to do quality research, how to write professionally and how to pick up key points in really long texts, something that’s extremely helpful in graduate school,” said Nathalie.

After completing her two-year program, Nathalie hopes to acquire a job with an international development organization. After working her way up, Nathalie’s dream job is to work for the United Nations Development Program.